The Spoon River Valley Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 427 presented the West Prairie High School (Colchester) Trap Shooting Team with a $500 check as a donation to the program on Saturday, July 13. Present at the check donation were, left to right, Trap Team Coach Andy Jackson; Lodge 427 President Donald “Ike” Ike Hackett; Lodge 427 Treasurer Andy Zimmerman; team members Cameron Peters, Cody Peters and Aiden Percy; and McDonough County FOP Trustee Jim Percy.
West Prairie has had students participating in trap shooting since the district was formed in the fall of 2003. Last year the sport was organized as a fall activity through the West Prairie FFA chapter, which developed a partnership with the Macomb Gun Club that allowed students to use the Argyle Trap Range free of charge while students paid for clays.
As student interest in the activity increased over time, the chapter affiliated with the Illinois State High School Clay Target League. The league offers the opportunity for teams to compete in an eight-week fall season and a ten-week spring season without incurring travel expenses. Teams are organized into divisions based on team size, not school size; teams with fewer athletes compete together and teams with more athletes compete together regardless of geographic location.
